McAfee gives RIT $2.3 million in security hardware, software

Rochester Institute of Technology has received $2.3 million in security hardware and software from McAfee Inc. to enhance its information security, academic and research programs, officials said Wednesday.

The gift will be a core security component of RIT’s new data center. It will enhance the security of endpoints like desktops, laptops and mobile devices and create the McAfee Interlock Lab within RIT’s B. Thomas Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences.

The new data center at RIT will be located in Institute Hall and open in spring 2013. RIT officials said it will provide much-needed computing capacity and services for the university community, such as high-speed networking and server management.

Establishing the McAfee Interlock Lab—a smaller version of the data center’s security system—will support teaching, learning and research in many critical areas, RIT officials said.

The partnership will create several McAfee cooperative education opportunities, allowing students within the computing college to work on RIT’s information security as paid McAfee employees.

“This longstanding partnership aligns with RIT’s commitment to the highest security standards and energy efficient initiatives,” said RIT president William Destler. “I am pleased that students will also benefit from McAfee’s generosity, as they prepare for careers in computing security.”

By consolidating the data and computing services into an air-cooled facility with the latest security technology, the university will also improve energy efficiency and expand computing capacity, officials said.

“This is a mutually beneficial and innovative partnership that significantly enhances RIT’s information security posture while providing RIT the opportunity to serve as a reference architecture for McAfee in the higher education market,” said Jonathan Maurer, RIT information security officer and adjunct professor of enterprise security. “McAfee’s solution will allow RIT to holistically understand its information security risks.”